Tokyo designer Gwenael Nicolas of Curiosity has completed a spa in Interlaken, Switzerland, with silk panels hanging in layers from the ceiling.
Called Kanebo Sensai Select Spa, the design leads visitors from the dark corridor of the hotel past the silk layers to a circular waiting room.
Treatment rooms have warm wooden walls and timber shelves linked to the ceiling by metal poles.
Read our interview with Nicolas for Tokyo Designers Week here.
Here's some more information from the designer:
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KANEBO SENSAI SELECT SPA BY GWENAEL NICOLAS, CURIOSITY
Curiosity has designed the first "KANEBO SENSAI SELECT SPA" located in the 5-star Victoria Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa, in Switzerland.
SENSAI is a high prestige cosmetic brand of Kanebo which is mainly developed in Europe. The design of the space is based on the lining of floating layers of Koishimaru silk, a core value of the SENSAI brand.
The soft glow of light gently removes the outside world, layer by layer, to transform the mind and body. The waiting room in the center of the space is designed as a "cocoon", an oasis of tranquility surrounded by serene light, where the everyday life gives way to a different dimension, leading to an unexplored sense of relaxation and well being.
After passing through the dark hotel corridor, a gate of silk welcomes the guest. The light leads guest to the reception.
The 'cocoon-like' waiting room wraps the guest in a soft glow of light. Displays add to the atmosphere of the space, like sculptures.
The contrast of the darkness of the corridor with the soft glow of the cabin light. With the lighting wall created with layers of interlaced strings of fabric, as the eye loses focus, space vanishes and the mind is liberated.
Click for larger image.
DESIGN: GWENAEL NICOLAS, CURIOSITY
CLIENT : KANEBO COSMETICS INC.
COMPLETION: DECEMBER 2009
PHOTO: NACAS & PARTNERS